Southern Heat
by nyccountry
Summary: What happens when a murder sends Castle and Beckett to Texas in search of their suspect. Will Rick find answers to the questions lurking in the back of his mind about his father (idea brought on by Target and Hunt) I own nothing but the characters of Jesse Brooks and Jedidiah Sanders.
1. Chapter 1

_Southern Heat_

_Chapter One_

_ Rolling to his side, Rick reaches out and finds Kate's side of the bed cold. Lifting his head, he looks around the room until he sees the light is on in the bathroom. Pushing the covers back, he softly pads over to the door. He taps softly. "Kate." He says._

_ "I'll be out in a minute." She says, finishing her business as he shuffles back to the bed. _

_ He's laying there waiting for her when the door opens and she flips the light off. "Is everything okay?" He asks, as she comes back to bed._

_ "Yeah. I woke up needing to use the bathroom." She says, slipping back into bed. She lays down as he reaches for her. Kissing the side of her neck as he slips his hand under her shirt. She pushes him away. "We can't Castle." She says, rolling to her side._

_ "Why not?" He asks, in the little boy pouty voice that usually would make her smile. Looking over her shoulder, she looks at him and he says. "Oh, can I hold you at least?"_

_ She looks at him and then moves into his arms, laying her head on his chest as he wraps his arms around her. His soft sigh caressing the top of her head. She closes her eyes, trying to force the disappointment from overwhelming her. She was late by a few days and once she realized it a part of her latched onto the possibility that she could've been pregnant. They didn't always uses caution when they were together and that found her thinking about having a little boy or girl with all the characteristics of Castle that she loved so much. Sighing, she closes her eyes and tries to go back to sleep, with Castle oblivious to the thoughts running through her head, for the moment at least._

_ She and Castle walk into the bullpen shortly before nine am. Ryan and Esposito are already there, going over paperwork from the case they had closed the night before. Putting her bag on her desk, she sits down with Castle sliding into the chair beside her desk. Picking up a file, she settles in to finish up the final paperwork left to her after closing the case. After about ten minutes, she glances up and finds Castle looking at her. "We're back to watching me do paperwork." She asks, looking back at the report she was finishing up. He doesn't answer her. Something about her today felt off but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. She seems happy enough. They had shared the shower but nothing more than that happened. She smiled when he handed her the cup of coffee he had made her while she was getting ready. But something was off. "Are you really going to sit there all day and watch me do paper work? At least take out your phone and play angry birds or something, check out your twitter page, something." She says, as he pulls out his phone and she goes back to her work._

_ An hour later Beckett's desk phone rings. "Beckett." She says, as she picks up the phone. "Alright we'll be right there." She says, reaching for pen and scribbling down the address. "Ryan, Espo, we got a body." She says, standing up as Castle looks up. He quickly puts his phone away, following her out of the bullpen with Ryan and Esposito following behind them._

_ When the reach the street, Kate says. "The bodies in a alley two blocks east of the Marriott Marquis, between the Marquis and the Roosevelt."_

_ She opens her car door as Ryan and Espo jog over to their cruiser. Getting in, she and Castle back out of her parking place beside two other black and whites. As she reaches the corner, Espo and Ryan pull up behind her. It's a slow trip to the crime scene because of mid-town traffic. As she gets out, she grabs her note pad before she slams her door. Castle glances at her but doesn't say anything. Closing his door, he follows her quietly. Lanie is already working the scene as they walk up. "What do we have Lanie?" Kate asks, as her friend glances up. _

_ "Two victims, male and female. It looks like she tried to run." Lanie says, pointing to the victim further away from them. "They've both been shot. This one, looks to be point blank. I'll have more when I get them back to the lab."_

_ "Time of death." Kate asks._

_ "Judging by levity and liver temp between midnight and four am this morning. I'll know more..."_

_ "...when you get back to the lab." Kate says, finishing her usual statement. "Who found them?" Kate asks, looking around for a witness as Ryan walks up._

_ "Anonymous call to 911. They used a cell phone so no address from the call."_

_ "Alright, you and Espo, set up a canvass see if you can find the person that called it in. Maybe they heard something in the night. Do we have id's on the victim's yet?" She asks, looking at Lanie._

_ "The female is First Lieutenant Michelle Sparks, and the man is Captain Whitney Parker Peyton Rodgers, US Army."_

_ "Did you say Whitney Rodgers?" Castle asks, looking at Lanie._

_ "Yes, a Whitney Parker Peyton Rodgers. Both are US Army."_

_ "Do you know him?" Kate asks, looking at Castle._

_ "I don't know. Can I see his id?" He asks, looking at her. One of the CSU guys hands him the id and as Castle looks down, he takes a deep breath before he looks up at Kate. "I know him. He's my cousin." Castle says, handing the wallet back to CSU._

_ "You're cousin, you're sure?"_

_ "Yes." He says. "He looks exactly like my Uncle Whitney the Second." He says, as Kate stares at him. "He's my mother's older brother."_

_ "You're mother's older brother. I... I never, well you never talk about your mother's family and I never thought about it but I guess you would have cousins and aunts and uncles."_

_ "Don't worry about it Kate, it's not like I'm close to them. In fact, they've practically ignored me and my mother for most of my life. I've only seen them like once in my life and I was really really little when that happened and I don't think it was intentional." He says, as Kate stares at him._

_ "You're sure it's your..."_

_ "I'm sure Kate." He says, looking at her._

_ "Okay, we'll go back to the precinct and see if we can contact their next of kin." They walk away as Rick pulls out his phone. "Who are you calling?"_

_ "My mother, she might be able to tell us how to contact his next of kin." He says, as Kate reaches out to stop him._

_ "Maybe we should wait." She says, looking at him._

_ "Yeah, I guess that's not the best way to find out your nephew is dead." Castle says, putting his phone away._

_ "We'll do a search when we get back to the precinct." Kate says, opening her car door. They get in and leave. _

_ They're a couple blocks away when Castle says. "Go ahead and ask me Kate." _

_ She glances at him and then smiles. "Sorry, I'm just curious. You never saw any of your mother's family?"_

_ "No, we were pretty much left alone after Mom had me. Her father was strict military and didn't approve of my mother's more flamboyant side. When she found out that she was pregnant with me, she went to him for help, but he basically told her to either give me up or raise me on her own. She refused to give me up and he refused to acknowledge her bastard son."_

_ "Rick, you are not a bastard." Kate says vehemently, as he smiles. _

_ "Alright, illegitimate son. The only time I remember having any contact with them was when I was about five, just before mother sent me to my first prep school. My grandfather died and she brought me with her for the funeral. Something happened that weekend because she left immediately after the funeral and she never returned."_

_ "Where is her family from?"_

_ "Upstate, Fort Drummond."_

_ "We were just there Castle."_

_ "I know."_

_ "You never said anything about your family being from there."_

_ "That's because I don't think about them. I never have since that one weekend. My mom was upset for weeks after that weekend, so I let the questions leave my mind."_

_ "So, you had no idea who your father was until Paris and you have had no contact with your mother's family."_

_ "That's right." He says, as she reaches for his hand._

_ "I'm sorry Castle."_

_ "Don't be, I've never missed them or my father. You can't miss what you never had and my mom more than made up for not having a family around us." He says, squeezing her hand._

_ When they pull into the precinct, she double parks and then gets out with Castle following her as he always does, holding the door for her as she walks in. They take the elevator up to the bull pen. As the doors open, she looks at him. "Maybe we should let Gates know about your connection to this case."_

_ "Why?"_

_ "He was your cousin, Castle."_

_ "And someone I never met, he's related to me but I didn't know him so there's not conflict of interest here."_

_ "Still, we'll need to tell her..." He opens his mouth. "Just so she's prepared, in case the press finds out."_

_ "Alright, fine. But if she tries to send me home, I have the mayor on speed dial." He says, as he follows Kate over to Gates's office._

_ She smiles as she knocks on Gates's door. "Come in." Gates says, looking up. "Beckett." She says, when Kate opens the door. "...and Castle." He smiles._

_ "Good morning, Sir." Castle says, smiling at her. _

_ She ignores him, turning her attention to Kate. "Is there a problem Det. Beckett?"_

_ "Not really a problem, Sir. We just wanted to give you a heads up of sorts." Kate says, glancing at Castle._

_ "Mr. Castle, what did you do?"_

_ "Nothing sir. Castle hasn't done anything." Kate says, jumping to his defense. "It's about the body we just got." She glances at Rick._

_ "Okay." Gates says, looking at both of them._

_ "What she's so delicately trying to tell you Sir, is that one of the victims is my cousin." Rick says._

_ Gates looks at him, trying to figure out if he's actually serious or playing around with one of his crazy theories or something. "It's true, Sir. One of the victims is my Uncle Whitney's son, my cousin." Castle says._

_ "In that case, Mr. Castle I expect that you will not be working with..."  
"I have every intention of working this case, Sir." Castle says, getting his back up._

_ "You're personally connected to the victim, Mr. Castle. I can't have you going off on your own to get justice."_

_ "I assure Sir, I will not be going off on my own with this case. He may have been my cousin, but I didn't really know him, Sir. Or any of my family for that matter. Helping Kate with this case will not be any different than every other case we've worked."_

_ "Sir, I think everything will be okay. And I'll take personal responsibility for anything Rick does." Kate says, as Gates looks at her._

_ "Alright, but if anything happens Det. Beckett, you will be held responsible."_

_ "Yes sir." Kate says, turning to go._

_ "Oh and Mr. Castle, I am sorry for your loss." Gates says._

_ "Thank you Sir." Rick says before following Kate out of Gates's office._

_ When they get back to her desk, she pulls up her computer as Castle sits down beside her in his chair. Pulling up the database to search for Capt. Rodgers next of kin. She glances as Rick. "Maybe you might want to let your Mom know about this." She says quietly._

_ "She's in class right now. I'll tell her tonight after we're home." He says, sitting there quietly. She reaches for his hand. He looks at her. "I'm fine Kate. I didn't know the man." _

_ "He's still your family and I know a little bit about..."  
"Your mom's case is totally different than this. You were personally involved with her, knew her. I met my cousin once, so he's a stranger to me, just like every other victim we get justice for."_

_ "Okay." She says, waiting for the system to bring back next of kin._

_ By the time Ryan and Espo come back to the precinct, Kate has already contacted the next of kin for Castle's cousin. "Did you find anything?" She asks, as they walk in._

_ "No, I'm beginning to think that call was made by the murderer after they left the scene. Because none of the people around the scene heard anything and no one called 911 this morning." Espo says, walking over to them. _

_ "When did the 911 call come in?" Kate asks._

_ "Ten minutes before we rolled to the scene, from a cell phone, so they could've been two doors down from the victims, or they've could've been at JFK about to board a plane to leave. We have no way of knowing."_

_ "Do we know why the victims were together?" Ryan asks._

_ "No, so start looking into their backgrounds. They are US Army so contact Fort Drummond, find out if these victims were stationed there. Maybe they know these two. I've already contacted the next of kin for the male victim and they are coming in from upstate." Kate says, after pausing for a moment._

_ "What about the other victim's next of kin?" Ryan asks._

_ "I haven't been able to get a hold of her. She's listed as a Mable Green out of Celina TX. While we wait for the male's next of kin, you guys look into any connections through the Army while Castle and I see if Lanie can tell us anything." Kate says, standing up with Castle following her._

_ Lanie looks up as Kate and Castle walk into the morgue. "Girl, I just finished."_

_ "Was their anything out of the ordinary?"_

_ "No, pretty straight forward. We're still running the toxicology test, but the COD was GSW to the chest, double tapped actually."_

_ "So this was a pro?" Castle asks._

_ "Can't say that, only that I pulled two slugs from each victims chest. Standard 9mm." Lanie says, anticipating Beckett's next question. "But find the gun and I'll be able to match it through ballistics."_

_ "Alright, thanks Lanie." Kate says, turning to go._

_ "Hey Castle, I didn't get to say this at the scene, but I'm sorry about your cousin."_

_ "Thanks Lanie." He says, following Kate out of the morgue._

_ "Maybe this isn't the right question to ask, but do you have any wild theories here Castle?"  
"Sorry, no. But I kind of find it odd that a First Lieutenant was with a Captain when they were killed."_

_ "Maybe they were here on Army business and were mugged and killed."_

_ "With their wallets and jewelry still at the crime scene. I'm not expert, okay I am, but the ring on the female victim's hand. It's not a large ring, but it's still an engagement ring."_

_ "You think they were involved with each other?"_

_ "Maybe there were and someone didn't like it. A Captain out ranks a First Lieutenant by a few ranks. Maybe this is someone's way of revenge for being passed over to a promotion or something."_

_ "We'll head back to the precinct and see if Ryan or Espo has found anything out from the Army." Kate says, leaving the OCME."_

_ When they walk into the bullpen, Ryan is hanging up his phone. "Hey Beckett, just got off the phone with CSU, they went through the victim's wallet and found a hotel key card for the Roosevelt."_

_ "Get the card and go over to their hotel, see if you can find out anything from there." Beckett says, putting her purse down. "Where are you going?" She asks, looking at Castle._

_ "To get a coffee, want one." He asks. She pauses for a moment and then nods yes. He looks at her and then turns to go as Espo hangs up from his call._

_ "Yo Beckett, got some info from you. Both victims are retired army, less than six months out. Fort Drummond is emailing their records to us, but both have been deployed overseas to both Iraq and Afghanistan. The last time being about a year ago."_

_ "So, they both survived a war zone to be killed in Manhattan." She says, sighing softly._

_ "It looks that way. Oh and the male victim was the female's commanding officer, until they both retired. I doubt the relationship was public if they were in a relationship." Espo says, as Castle brings Beckett her coffee._

_ She smiles when he hands it to, but the smile doesn't quite reach her eyes. He notices but he turns to Espo. "Did you say the male victim was the female's commanding officer?"_

_ "Yes."_

_ "So, it's unlikely that they were involved with each other and that engagement ring wasn't from him._

_ "It might've been from him. They were both retired army, less than six months out with several tour in both Afghanistan and Iraq between them." Kate says, sipping her coffee._

_ "Where's Ryan?" Espo asks._

_ "CSU found a hotel key card from the Roosevelt in the male victims wallet, he's gone to looks the room over."_

_ "Did Lanie have anything for you?" He asks._

_ "No, straight forward GSW to the heart..."_

_ "But they were double tapped." Castle says, as Espo looks at him. "It's her term." He says, as he looks at Kate._

_ "So do you think it was a pro?"_

_ "Can't say if it was or not, an amateur might've double tapped them to make it look like a hit because usually a pro would do heart and head. The gun was a standard 9, if we find the gun she'll be able to get ballistics."_

_ "Maybe I should catch up to Ryan, help him check out the hotel room." Espo says, turning to go._

_ "We'll be right behind you." Kate says, looking at Castle._

_ When they walk into the loft, Castle walks into the kitchen while Beckett puts her gun away. Taking out a bottle of wine, he opens it as she walks up to him. "Are you hungry?" She asks, walking up beside him._

_ "Not really." He says, pouring them both a glass and offers one to her. She takes it after pausing for a split second and he notices._

_ "Come sit down." She says, taking his hand and leading him over to the couch._

_ They sit down. "What are you thinking?"_

_ He sits back. "I don't know why I feel this way. I didn't know him."_

_ ""But?" She asks, taking a small sip of wine._

_ "I feel so angry. And I don't know why." He says, looking at her._

_ "You have every reason to feel angry. You lost someone today."_

_ "Yeah, but it's not like I knew him. I met him once and I was five."_

_ "He was still your family. And could it be that your angry because you didn't know him." She asks, as he looks at her._

_ "Maybe. I've never spent much time thinking about the things I missed not knowing my father, never being around my mom's family, not knowing my grandparents. My mom made everything okay. It was just me and her and it was the same for me and Alexis. And then I realized today there was so much I missed. Maybe I've been realizing since Paris. Like you're mom's not here for our wedding, neither will my Dad but he could be." He says, as the door opens._

_ "Richard, Kate." Martha calls, sweeping into the loft. Richard gets up as she walk into the living room. "I found the perfect..." She stops when he looks at her. "What's wrong? Did something happen to Alexis?"_

_ "No, Alexis is fine Come sit down Mother." He says, taking her arm. "I need to tell you something." He says, guiding her over to the couch and sitting down on the other side of her as Kate moves down._

_ "What happened? You're still getting married." She asks, looking at both of them._

_ "Of course we're still getting married. This isn't about me and Kate. We caught a case this morning." He says, taking a breath as he looks at Kate._

_ "What we're trying to tell you is that one of the victims is related to you?"_

_ "What do you mean they're related to me?" Martha asks, looking back and forth between them._

_ "He was Uncle Whit's son." Castle says softly, as she looks at him._

_ "Wait, what do you mean?"_

_ "It was a double homicide." Kate says. "Rick id'd the male victim as your brother's son." Kate says._

_ "How could you possibly know Whit's son?" She asks, looking at him._

_ "I looked at his id and he looks exactly like Uncle Whit." Castle says._

_ "How do you know that?"_

_ "I remember from Granddad's funeral." _

_ "You were barely five years old." _

_ "It's kind of hard to forget a man that stood 6'4 and over two fifty with flaming red hair and brilliant blue eyes. So blue in fact that they appear white."_

_ "What happened?" Martha asks, looking at Kate._

_ "GSW to the chest." _

_ "Has anyone contacted...?"_

_ "I spoke with a Justine Arlington and they will be coming in from upstate." _

_ There is several moments of silence before Martha says. "I want to be there when you tell them." _

_ "That's fine." Kate says, as she nods._

_ "Are you okay?" Rick asks._

_ "I'll be fine." She says quietly._

_ He reaches out to help her up and when she's up, she squeezes his hand before she walks away. Castle sits back as Kate moves over beside him. Lifting his arm, she snuggles against him as she lays her head on his shoulder. Reaching up, he gently caresses her hair. After a little while he says. "I'm glad you're here."_

_ She leans up and kisses the side of his neck. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." He pulls her closer. "Do you want something to eat?"_

_ "I need to eat, but I don't feel like cooking." _

_ She pulls away. "Go take a shower and I'll order dinner." She says, getting up._

_ "You could join me." He says, looking up._

_ "I'll be in after the food gets here." She says, after he stands up ._

_ Reaching for her, he pulls her to him, kissing her. After several moments, he moves back. "That's just to inspire you to come quickly." He says, before he turns away. _

_ As he walks into his office, she reaches for her cell phone as she walks into the kitchen. Noticing that she has a message, she dials her voice mail and listens to Espo's message before she deletes it and orders Castle's favorite pizza from the pizzeria around the corner from the loft. After the food arrives, she puts the phone on the bar before she walks through Castle's office to their bedroom._

_ Walking into the bathroom, she's surprised to find him sitting in his tub instead of in the shower. "What are you doing?" _

_ "I thought this would be easier." He says, with a mischievous grin._

_ "Easier for what?" She asks, unbuttoning her blouse. He doesn't answer her. He's focused on her fingers and the small strip of skin her open shirt reveals as she unbuttons each button. "Easier for what Castle?" She asks, taking a step closer._

_ He looks up and catches her small smile. "For relaxation." He mutters, watching her shrug out of her blouse. It flutters to the floor but he ignores it_

_ She sees the anticipation in his eyes and she can't resist teasing him a little bit. "I don't think you're very relaxed." She says, unfastening her bra and shrugging out of it. Reaching for the button on her slacks, she unbuttons and unzips them before pushing them over her hips, taking her panties with them. She looks up and catches the flash of desire dash across his face and she smiles. Holding out his hand, she walks towards him. Taking his hand, he helps into the tub, making room for her to sit between his legs. She leans back against him and feels his bodies response to her. "No, not relaxed at all."_

_ "I'll be okay." He says, wrapping his arms around her. Softly kissing her neck._

_ "I didn't mean to tease..."_

_ "Beckett, you never tease me. I want you every moment of every day." He says, still kissing the side of her neck._

_ Turning her head, she kisses him. After several moments, she pulls away with a frustrated sigh. Laying her head against his chest, she takes a deep breath. "I'm happy to hold you." He says softly, caressing her back. She settles against him and he wraps his arms around her again. Laying her head against his chest, she can hear his heart beat and feel the rhythm of his breathing. After several seconds, he asks. "Can I ask you about something?"_

_ "Sure." She says, thinking that he wants to talk about the case._

_ "I've noticed some changes in you today. They were subtle but I noticed them and I was just wondering what they were about."_

_ "I don't know what you're talking about." She says, even though she does._

_ He kisses the side of her head. "Kate, I'm pretty good at reading you I think. So, I know when some thing's up. And like I said, it was subtle but there is something bothering you. Are you worried about the wedding or thinking about your mom not..."  
She gives up hiding from him. "It's not about the wedding. Well in a way it is." She says, taking a deep breath. "I'm just a little bit disappointed, that's all."_

_ "Because you're mom..."_

_ "It's not about my mom. You remember when you woke up this morning and I was in the bathroom." _

_ "Yes, it's a certain time of the month. I understand that."_

_ "It is, but it's also later than usual, but only by a couple days." She says. "But when I realized I was late." She takes a deep breath and says quickly. "I sort of thought maybe I could be pregnant." _

_ "Oh." He says, a little surprised._

_ "I know it's silly, but I sort of started thinking about what our little boy or girl would look like and their personality and then I woke up cramping last night and realized that I wasn't pregnant."_

_ "And everything today, the coffee, and the wine reminded you that you weren't pregnant."_

_ "Yes." She says, blushing slightly. As he leans over, kissing her neck again._

_ "I would be so stoked if you were." He says, as she turns to look at him. "It wouldn't be so bad to have a shotgun wedding." He says, with his mischievous smile._

_ "I think my dad would have a few words to say about that." She says, turning to look at him._

_ "He can't say too much, I'm marrying you." He says, as she settles back against him again._

_ After a few moments, she asks. "Would you really want to have another baby?"_

_ He reaches up, turning her face towards him. "You, pregnant, with my child, I can think of nothing more incredibly sexy than that." He says, leaning in to kiss her._

_ She finally pulls away when they are both struggling to breath. Looking up, she says. "Maybe we should wait till after the wedding. And maybe we should finish this bath before the pizza gets cold."_

_ "Pizza, you ordered pizza." He says, as she laughs. Reaching for the shampoo, as she sinks down into the water._

_ The plane touched down in Dallas shortly before noon. Walking through the airport, he ignores the TV's running the news. He didn't have any checked luggage so he immediately leaves the airport and as he steps out of the terminal. He sucks in a deep breath, shivers and then mutters. "Damn it, I hate the cold. This is Texas, it's not supposes to feel like I took a bath in frozen lake." He quickly walks to his truck, parked in long term parking. Getting in, he starts the truck and immediately turns the heater on full blast before he pulls his cell phone out. _

_ After a couple rings, a man picks up. "Hello."_

_ "It's done." Jesse says, as the man takes a deep breath._

_ "So you talked to her and she's coming back."_

_ "No, I mean yes I talked to her. Gave her you're pitch, she wasn't interested so I had to come up with some other plan."_

_ "So, why are you calling me?" The man demands, getting up and closing his office door so that his secretary won't hear the conversation._

_ "Relax, Reverend. It's a burner phone. No one is going to trace it to you or me. So it's done. She actually didn't put up much of a fight."_

_ "I don't want to know the details. You were only supposes to talk to her. Try to bring her back home." The Reverend says._

_ "Come on, the other was implied and you know. I did what you were to self-righteous to do, Reverend."_

_ "Stop calling me that!"_

_ "What am I to call you then? You are the Reverend of Celina Texas's Baptist church, are you not?"_

_ "You know damn..." He offers up a silent prayer for cursing within the walls of God's house and then says. "It doesn't matter who I am, so what are my options?"_

_ "Well, I did your implied instructions, including calling the NYPD before I left town to report the incident. They're probably still chasing the army angle."_

_ "You were to leave that out of the..."_

_ "She's retired Army. Her and that man she was with. She met someone. Had a nice size rock on her finger when I finally caught up with her, which made it all the more enjoyable for me. So, I'm back in..."  
"You can not come back here. What if they trace anything back to you?"The reverend demands._

_ "Relax, Reverend. The cops are idiots in New York. There's no way they'll link this back to you or your organization."_

_ "You still can't come back here." The Reverend says, hanging up._


	2. Chapter 2

Southern Heat

Chapter Two

Shortly before seven, Kate and Castle walk into the bullpen. Martha said she would be along in about an hour when they were leaving the loft. When they walk into the bullpen, Ryan and Espo are already there. "You guys taking a vacation?" Espo asks, as they walk towards Beckett's desk, discretely holding hands.

"Didn't realize you had no life Espo." Kate says, as Castle smirks.

"Alright, children." Ryan says, as he gets up and Kate puts her bag down.

"What do you got Ryan?" Kate asks, turning to him.

"After we went through the male victim's..." He glances at Castle.

"It's okay." Castle says and he continues.

"We decided to run a check on the female victim."

"Did you find out anything?" Kate asks, sort of kicking herself for not looking into the female victim yesterday. Castle squeezes her hand.

"According to this, the female victim is originally from Texas. She joined the army about four years ago."  
"Do she have any family?"

"Only an Aunt, a Mable Green. But two months after the victim left Texas. Mable Green died." Ryan says

"Which is why you weren't able to get in touch with her." Castle says.

"Does she have any friends here or in Texas?" Kate asks.

"I haven't found any."

"What about employment?"

"She doesn't so far."

"Where does she live?"

"Address is on the upper west side." Espo says.

"Go over there and see if you can find anything out. Ryan run her financials before you go. We need to know how she supported herself since she left the Army." She says, as they nod. When they leave, she turns to Castle. "I should've done that yesterday."

"You were focused on me and I appreciate it so don't beat yourself up." He says, as LT walk into the bullpen.

"Detective Beckett." He says, as she turns to him.

"There's a Whitney and Alice Rodgers and a Justine Arlington here to see you." He says, as she nods.

"Can you take them into the conference room." She asks. He nods as she turns to Castle. "Are you ready?"

Sighing, he nods as she reaches for her folder. She reaches for his hand as the elevator dings and Martha walks out. She squeezes it before they walks towards the elevator. "I got here as soon as I could." Martha says, as they walk up.

"It's alright, they've just arrived." Kate says, turning for the conference room. Castle and Martha follow her. She opens the door as a man, much like Castle had described his grandfather turns around. Standing next to him is a small woman, with brown hair, filled with streaks of gray.

When Whitney looks behind Kate and spots Martha, he snaps. "What are you doing here?"

"He was my nephew too." Martha snaps back.

"A fact you never cared about, till now." Whitney says.

"Whit..." Alice says.

"Be quiet, Alice." He snaps.

"You are the same arrogant egotistical ass you always were." Martha says. "You can't even get over yourself long enough to see she's falling apart."

"And you're still as flighty and irresponsible as when you found yourself pregnant and..." He says, glancing at Rick with veiled contempt.

Rick takes a step towards his uncle but Beckett puts his hand on his arm. "We need to take a step back. Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers, Ms Arlington." She says, nodding to the younger woman behind both of them. She swallows and nods.

Whitney looks at Rick for a moment before, he says. "You have some sort of news for us." He says, as he turns his attention on Beckett.

"Yes, would you all please have a seat." Beckett says, nodding to the couch and chair across from her, Rick and Martha.

Once everyone is seated, Whitney says. "You said on the phone that this is about my son."

"Yes and I'm sorry to inform you of this." Kate says, taking a deep breath. Rick reaches for her hand and his uncle notices. Of all the meeting with victims families, this one will be one of the hardest. "Yesterday morning we found your son in an alley in Mid Town. He had been..."

"He's dead, isn't he." Alice whispers. Quietly, Kate nods and with a low moan she begins crying.

"Alice control..."

"Whitney, shut up." Martha says, getting up. "For once in your life try to act like you have some sort of feelings." She goes over to her sister-in-law. Putting her arms around her, she glares her brother.

"Do either of you know why your son was in the city?" Kate asks, taking control again.

"He had no reason..."  
"I know." Justine says, as Whitney looks at her. She looks down when her father looks at her.

"Mrs. Arlington?" Kate asks.

"He was here to find her." Justine says, glancing at her father.

"I made it clear the consequences should he pursue that relationship." Whitney says, glaring at her.

"What relationship?" Kate asks.

"He fancied himself in love with a woman in his command."

"He did love her. That's why he left the army." Justine says, as Whitney stares at her.

After a moment, Rick asks. "Was anyone in his command aware of this relationship?"

Whitney glances at him and then ignores his question. "Mr. Rodgers?" Kate asks. "Did anyone in his command know about the relationship

"There was no relationship. He knew the consequences of such a relationship. He came to me. Telling me he wanted to retire and marry this woman."

"And what happened during that conversation?" Kate asks.

"When he came to me about his feelings, I listened..."

"No, you didn't. You never do." Justine says. "That's why he had to hide his decision from you."

"Do you know who this woman was?"

"Blythe Richardson." Justine says, as Kate glances at Rick.

"Would you be able to recognize her, if you saw her?" Kate asks, reaching for the folder she brought with her when they arrived.

"Umm, sure." Justine says. "He showed me a picture of her from when they were in Iraq."

Opening the folder, Kate pulls out a picture of the female victim found with Captain Rodgers. "Is this the woman he was involved with?" She asks, handing the picture to Justine. She looks at it and then nods yes. "Do you know anything more about her?" Kate asks.

"No, not that much. Except that she was raised by her aunt in Texas."

"You said that your brother came to the city to find her. Was she hiding from him or someone else?"

" If you're asking did she come to the city to get away from him. The answer is no. Parker never touched her in anyway other than to protect and love her. It wasn't in him to hurt anyone." Justine says, as Alice nods.

"My boy wouldn't hurt anyone." She says. "Do you know where Ms. Richardson is?" She asks, looking at Kate.

Kate glances at Rick again before she replies. "Unfortunately, we do."

There's a moment of silence before Justine says. "She was in the alley with him, wasn't she?"

"I'm afraid she was and both were killed." Kate says.

Clearing his throat, Whitney asks. "Do you have any idea who did this?"

"Right now, we're looking into all possibilities." Kate says.

"So you have no information." He says, standing up.

"I still have some questions, Mr. Rodgers." Kate says, looking up. He sits back down.

"Do either of you know the reason he was searching for her?" Kate asks, looking at Justine.

Sighing, Justine says. " They both retired six months ago and they were living together a few towns over from Fort Drummond. He hadn't been around us much, because of their relationship." She doesn't say any more. "Anyway, about a month ago, he told me that Blythe started acting weird and she wouldn't tell him what was wrong. And then about a month ago, he came by and told me that she had left him."

"Did she give him a reason?"

"No, he didn't know why she'd left. And then a couple weeks ago, he came by again and said that he had found her and that he was coming to the city to try and convince her to marry him and come back with him."

"I think he succeeded in that." Rick says, as Justine looks at him. "Ms. Richardson was wearing a diamond engagement ring when we found her." He says.

"So this wasn't a random attack or robbery." Justine says.

"No, it wasn't. They were targeted and whomever did it, wanted to make sure they were gone." Kate says, as all three look at her. "Both of them were shot twice in the chest. They died almost instantly." Kate says. "Do you know if Ms. Richardson had any other relationships besides the one with your brother?"

"No, at least I don't think so. Parker said that she kept mostly to herself within the platoon."

"Did your son have any issues with anyone in his platoon or another platoon?" Castle asks, looking at his uncle.

"He was loved by everyone." Whitney replies.

"No all of them." Justine says, as he glances at her.

"Mrs. Richardson?" Kate asks.

Pulling her eyes away from her father, she says. "He had a run in with one of the enlisted men.

"When was this?"

"About a month after he returned from his last tour."

"Do you know what it was about?"

"No, he never went into detail about it."

"Who was this enlisted man?" Rick asks.

"He never told me that either."

"Sam might know." Alice says, looking at Justine.

"Who is Sam?"  
"That would be my husband. He took over command of Parker's platoon after he retired. They are on maneuvers right now."

"When will they be back?"

"Not till this weekend."  
"Is there any way of contacting them?"

"No not while they're in the field, I'm sorry."

"Would anyone else in the command know which one he argued with?"

"Umm, his commander might know." Justine says."  
"And what was his name?" Kate asks.

"Major Dennis Andrews." Justine replies.

"Is there some way he could be reached to interview." Kate asks.

"He's probably on base right now." Justine says.

"We'll look into that." Kate says, putting her folder down. She looks at all three of them and feels her own sadness. Tapping into that, she says. "One final question, what platoon was that enlisted man in?"

"Second Brigade Combat Team." Justine says, as Kate nods.

"I want you to know that I will do everything I can to bring the person or persons responsible for killing your son and brother to justice." Whitney just looks at her while Alice and Justine nod. "Thank you again for coming in and again I am sorry for your loss." This time Whitney nods slightly, along with Alice and Justine. They all stand up while Kate says. "There will be an officer outside to take you to your son." Alice and Justine reach to shake her hand as Whitney turns to leave without acknowledging anyone.

Kate and Rick stand in the doorway watching them follow LT to the elevators. Martha stands there for a moment beside them before she follows behind them. "Mother, where are you going?" Rick asks, reaching out.

"Just give me a moment." She says. She walks over to her brother and sister-in-law. Alice turns as she walks up. Ignoring her brother, she says. "Alice if you need anything..."  
"She..." Whitney says, and Martha looks at him and he falls silent again.

"If you need anything please do not hesitate to call me." Martha says, as Alice nods. The elevator comes a t that moment and they follow LT on as Martha steps back, watching as the door closes.

"I'm going to go see if the boys have found out anything more about our female victim." Kate says, while Rick watches his mother and doesn't answer her. "Castle." She says, touching his arm.

"Yeah, sorry. What did you say?" He asks, turning to her.

"I said I'm going to go check in with the boys."

"Okay." He says, turning to watch his mother again as the doors closes on the elevator.

"Go to her." Kate says, sliding her hand down his back before she walks away.

For a moment, he stands there and then he slowly walks over to her. Putting his arm across her shoulders as she looks up. She turns to him, wrapping her arms around him. She takes a deep breath, breathing him in and feeling his warmth, her little boy. After a moment, he asks. "Do you want me to take you home Mother?"

Slowly she pulls away and looks up. Smiling, she replies. "No, I'll be okay."

"Are you sure? I'm sure Captain Gates..."

"No, stay and help Kate solve this. I'll be fine. I might go to the studio and... I don't know what I'll do, but I'll be fine." She says, pulling away and patting his arm before she reaches for the button on the wall. He stands there beside her, waiting for the elevator. When it comes, she says. "Go, help Kate. I'll be fine." She says, with a smile. It doesn't quite reach her eyes. As he steps back the elevator dings, the doors opens and she walks on. Pushing the button for the ground floor, she looks up and smiles again before the doors close. Turning he follows Kate back into the bullpen.

When Castle walks into the bullpen, Kate, Ryan and Espo are standing around the murder board. He walks over to them slowly. Kate looks up as he walks up to them. "Is Martha okay?" She asks, as he nods, standing beside her and leaning against her desk. He looks at the murder board.

"You've updated it." He says, noticing all the notes Beckett had added while he was with his mom.

"Yeah. And Kevin and Javi were able track down Ms. Richardson's roommate."

"Did they know anything?" Castle asks, looking at them.

"Not too much, only the victim had left the previous night to meet up with Mr. Rodgers."

"Alright, Kevin stay with that. Try to track down where they met and where she and Mr. Rodgers went after they met. Javi, look into her employment history. Castle and I are going to take a drive up to Fort Drummond. We're going to contact Maj. Andrews and see if he has any information on the argument Mr. Rodgers had with that enlisted man after he returned from Iraq."

"Beckett, do you mind if I stay here with the boys?" Castle asks, as she looks at him slightly surprised. "I want to be around in case my mom..."

"I thought you said she was okay." She says, turning to him while Javi and Kevin walk away.

"She is, but I want to be here, just in case she needs me." He says, his look pleading with her to understand.

She reaches for his hand. "It's okay." She says, squeezing it. "I was just surprised, that's all. You're always the first to be ready for a road trip."

"Normally, I would be. But I think I need to stay here."

"Alright, I'll see you when I get back." She says, reaching for her purse.

"Beckett." He says. She looks at him and he looks at her and then she looks down and he's holding out his hand and she smiles. Taking his hand, she looks into his eyes as they shake hands.

Slowly she releases his hand after several seconds and picks up her purse, she whispers. "I'll see you tonight." He smiles as she walks out of the bullpen and he turns his attentions to Kevin and Javi.

Jesse never liked being told what he couldn't do. It just bugged him to no end. Getting into his truck, he backs out of long term parking at DFW and points it towards Celina, TX. When he left New York, he'd dumped the gun and burner phone that he had used to kill his ex and her new boy toy. Now he was going back to Celina, but he had no idea what he was going to do once he got there, only that no and he meant no told him he couldn't do something.

Leaving Rick at the station, Martha heads back to the loft. One of the few things she was able to rescue from her place before creditor took it was a box full of Rick's old baby things. Those little things that mothers hold onto, his baby book, his first pair of shoes, the lock of hair from his first hair cut, his first teddy bear, the first little craft project he brought home from kindergarten, the little construction paper drawings that she never displayed on the refrigerator, because that didn't jive with a Broadway diva, but always touched her heart when Rick would bring her one of those drawings. There was even a small story he had written when he was in boarding school. He had to have been nine or ten when he wrote it, and it was filled with grammatical and spelling errors, but it was so cute. And maybe even then there was a hint of what he would one day be. There were mother's day cards from every year. The first few years she had to buy them herself, because there was no one there to take him to get a card. She kept them all and Rick had no idea she had this box.

Sitting down on her bed, she slowly takes out each item, looking at it before she lays it on her bed. Holding his first pair of shoes, she remembers his first steps in that tiny apartment on the Lower east side. The way he wobbled but how he pushed forward, unbridled and uncaring about the possibility that he could get hurt. Everything he did, he did with passion and fearlessness. Something he probably got from both of his parents. At least she wanted to believe that. Reaching up, she wipes a tear from her cheek.

Laying the shoes down, she picked up the lock of hair. She smiled remembering the day she'd taken him to get it cut. He had screamed bloody murder when she set him down in that chair. Reaching for her until she finally gave in and picked him up. The barber smiled and put the cape around both of them and cut his hair. She picked up the tiny little clay modelings of his little five year old hands, with his name scratched between them. Laying that down, she flipped through the pictures next, smiling at the things he would draw, zombies attacking their house and how he always would defeat them. She shakes her head at his imagination even at the early age of six or seven. The story was about ninja's and pirates being at war with each other. "And the ninja's will always win." She thought, smiling.

She thinks back to the day, Richard had told he that Meredith was pregnant. Meredith hadn't even bothered to be there when he told her. A flash of anger rolls through her, but she pushes it away. This wasn't about Meredith. She loves Alexis, but she remembers hoping that Rick would be able to experience all the things she experienced with his son. She was proud of the man he had become. Proud of the father he was to Alexis. And proud of the relationship he was building with Kate.

With the boys check out leads for the other victim and Beckett on her way to Fort Drummond there really wasn't anything for Castle to do at the precinct. He probably should be home writing. If he waited much longer, Gina would be hounding him for the chapters on the new Niki Heat novel. Kevin turns around as he stands up. "Going somewhere Castle?" He asks, as Javi glances up.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to go back to the loft. I've got a couple chapters due." He says, pulling his coat on.

"Alright." Kevin says, as Castle turns away.

Grabbing a cab outside the precinct, he gives the driver his address and then settles back. A little while later, they pull up in front of his building. Handing the fare through the window, he gets out and walks towards the front door. "Good afternoon, Mr. Castle." The doorman says, holding the door for him.

"Thanks, Henry." Castle says, walking into the lobby. He walks over to the elevator and pushes the button for it. Stepping back, he waits for it and then moves to the side when the doors open and a couple of his neighbors step off. He nods to them before getting on. Pressing the button for his floor, he steps back and then looks up at the bar running along the top of the elevator, indicating which floor it was on. When the doors open, he steps off and then slowly walks down the hall to his loft.

Unlocking the door, he walks in. Closing the door behind him, he hangs his coat up along with his scarf and then walks into the kitchen. He grabs a bottle of water from the refrigerator and makes his way towards his office. He's in front of the stairs leading to Alexis and his mother's room when he hears a small sound. Stopping he listens, and it's only a few seconds before he hears it again. Climbing the stairs, he starts down the hall, following the sound. Which is louder now that he's on the upper floor. He stops outside Alexis's room, expecting the sound to be from there, but it's not. He walks on, stopping outside Martha's room. And he can clearly hear her inside, and she's crying, sobbing was more like it.

Slowly he pushes the door open. He's surprised to find her on her bed, holding his first teddy bear, with a bunch of junk laying around her. "Mom." He says quietly. He sees her stiffen when she hears him before she quickly reaches up to wipe her face. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the precinct with Kate." She asks, without turning around.

"She went to Fort Drummond." He says, as he steps into the room.

"And you didn't want to go with her?" She asks, gathering all the junk up and putting it in the box beside her.

"I thought maybe I should stay here." He says, walking over to the bed. When her reaches the bed, he's surprised to see different things from his childhood. "What are you doing?" He asks just as quietly as before.

"Oh nothing." She says, still not looking at him. "Just taking a silly trip down memory lane." She says, trying to be her jovial self.

"Mom, look at me." He says, standing beside her now. When she doesn't he kneels down in front of her. "Come on, look at me." He says, laying his hand on her knee. Slowly she looks up and he can see the tracks of her tears through her makeup. It's evidence of what he had already known. She was in here crying while she looked at all his baby things. "Mom." He sighs, pushing things back from the side of her bed and then sitting down beside her. She looks at him and smiles weakly. "What are you doing?" He asks, reaching for the card in her hand.

"I told you taking a silly..."  
"It's not silly." He says, putting the card down as he takes her hand. "This is about Parker, isn't it." He says, slowly rubbing his thumb back and forth across her hand, but it has a totally different connotation to it than when he does it with Beckett. "I thought you were going to go to your studio."

"I was, but then when I left the precinct I suddenly didn't have the desire to go there. So I came home." She says, looking around her. There's a few moments of silence before she says. "I wanted to see this stuff."

"You wanted to see my baby things." He says, looking at some of the things she had quickly dropped into the box when he'd walked in.

"Yeah. Do you remember the day you told me that Meredith was pregnant?" She says, looking at him with a small smile.

"Yes. You were furious that she didn't bother to be there with me." He says, patiently waiting for her to continue.

"I was. But I remember hoping that you would have a little boy. I love Alexis, don't take that..."  
"I know you love Alexis." He says, holding up his hand

"Anyway, I remember hoping you would have a little boy. I wanted you to experience all the things I did when I was raising you. You were so passionate about everything. And fearless, went at everything with full commitment, even learning to walk, you went for it. Like you were completely oblivious to the fact that you could get hurt if you fell down."

"I was oblivious. I was barely ten months old." He says with a smile.

"Yeah, well I cringed ever time you fell down. And then when you were older and you tried to be a ninja on the fire escape of that apartment on the lower east side, I wanted to strangle you. And how you got expelled before you graduated for the prank, I wanted to slap that principal for throwing you away for doing what teenage boys do."

"How does this tie into Parker?"

She looks up and sighs. "I can't help thinking that Alice will never know that. Her little boy is gone. And I know my brother, he'll soldier on without showing any emotion and she'll be alone to grieve for all the things I've experienced with you. Sometimes I have literally wanted to throttle you and then a minute later, you've made laugh so hard." She says, reaching up to caress his cheek. "You were the best gift your father ever gave me."

"I was the only gift, I think. Unless I have sibling..."

She slaps his arm. "You always say the most outrageous things." She says, as he smiles. She smiles back. He reaches for her and then hug, holding onto each other like they would do during those lean years and they leaved on the lower east side.

After several moments, he leans back and she releases him. "If you want you can invite Alice over here."

"Whitney would never let her come." Martha says, reaching for a stack of cards.

"You're... we're family." He says, not quite understanding.

She looks at him and he reminds her of that innocent little boy she had. "Yes we are, but we're not up to his standards." She says, putting more stuff in the box.

He looks at her for a moment and then he reaches to help her. When they're done, he says. "I think you should still contact her. I'm sure Beckett knows what hotel they are staying in while they're here." She looks at him and smiles and then reaches over and caresses his cheek again.

"I love you Richard Edgar Alexander Rodgers Castle." She says, as he smiles.

"I love you too Mom." He says, hugging her.

When Kate reached Fort Drummond, it didn't take her long to find Major Andrews office. Pulling up outside the building, she pause for a moment before she opens the door and gets out. When she walks in, a young woman looks up and asks. "May I help you?"

"Yes, I'm Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD. I need to speak with Major Andrews."

"May I asked what this is about?"

"He has information pertaining to a murder I'm investigating."

"Do you have an appointment to speak with him?"

"No." Kate says. "Is he here?"

"I'm sorry but without an appointment I can't allow you to see him." The young woman says, looking down.

Kate stands there until she finally looks back up. "I'm investigating a murder and Major Andrews has some information that I need. Now you can call back to his office or I can go back there myself, it's your choice."

"Please have a seat and I'll see if he's available to speak with you." The young woman says. Kate looks at her for a moment and then steps back. Turning, she takes a seat behind her as the young woman picks up the phone. She pushes a button and then says. "Sir, there is a Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD. She's here to speak to you about a case she's investigating." The young woman pause and then says. "Of course, Sir. I'll inform her." She says, hanging up the phone. "He will be with you shortly, Detective." She says, and Kate nods.

Twenty minutes later, the Major still hasn't come. Kate glances at the clock and then stands up. "It's been twenty minutes, where is he?"

"He's a very busy man." The young woman replies, as Kate walks around her desk and down the hallway with the young woman following her. "You can't be back here, it's..."

They reach the end of the hall with two office doors. Kate turns to the woman. "Which one is his office?" The woman doesn't reply. "You can either tell me which one is his office or I will arrest you for obstruction." The woman nods towards the door on the right. Walking over, Kate opens it and finds the office empty. She turns to the woman. "Where is he?" She demands, flipping her jacket back to have access to her cuffs. For a moment, the woman doesn't answer.

Kate reaches for her cuffs and the woman says. "Wait, I don't know where he is." Kate looks at her like she doesn't believe her. "I don't, I swear. He was supposes to be in by seven this morning, but he wasn't here."

"Why did you hide the fact that he wasn't here?"

"You said you were investigating a crime. I was protecting him. He's been a bit distracted since...  
"Since when, since he returned from the city."

"He was in the city, when?" The woman pauses again. "When!" Kate demands.

" A couple nights ago, I guess. He left the office early and said he would be back by the following morning."

"Was he?"

"Yes, but he was very distracted."

"Did he say why he was distracted?"

"No, I didn't ask. It's not my place to question a Major." She says, looking at Kate like she lost her mind with that last question.

"So he left the office early two nights ago and he came back distracted and he hasn't shown up for work today." Beckett says suspiciously.

"Yes." The young woman says. Beckett turns away. "What type of case are you investigating?" She asks.

Kate looks at her and then says. "A homicide. Do you have the Major's home address?"

"Yes, but I'm not supposes to give it out."

"Obstruction." Kate says, looking at the woman.

"It's back at my desk." She says, turning around. Kate follows her. When they reach her desk, she quickly looks up the address and scribbles it down onto a piece of paper and hands it to Kate.

Pulling out her car, she hands it to the woman. "If Major Andrews comes in, please give him that card and ask him to call me." Kate says, as the woman nods. Kate turns to leave as the woman sits down at her desk.


	3. Chapter 3

Southern Heat

Chapter Three

When Kate pulled up to the front gate, the guard asks her where she was going, she only told him that she was there to speak with Major Andrews. She didn't specify what the nature of the talk would be about. As she leaves his office, she contemplates stopping at the MP's to advise them of her being on base and the connection between her case and Major Andrews. Reaching her car, she pulls the door open and gets in. Slipping the key into the ignition after she's settled, she starts the car and then backs out of her parking place.

Pulling up to the stop sign beside the building, she decides to visit Major Andrews at home without the MP's. Why draw un-necessary attention to the man if he wasn't involved with her case. Glancing at the piece of paper his assistant had given her, she turns left, headed for his home. When she pulls up outside, she's not surprised by what she finds. It's a simply ranch style home. Probably built in the fifties after WWII was over and all of men came home. There's nothing elaborate about base housing.

Opening her door, she gets out and then quietly closes it. Walking around her car, she decides to take the front walk in plain view of the front door and window. As she steps up onto the porch however, she notices that the door is slightly ajar. Stopping, she looks around before she draws her gun. Using the tip, she pushes the door open slowly. "Police, is anyone home?" She calls out, as she braces her back against the door frame, she looks around the front room before she enters the house. Keeping her back to the wall, she walks over to the kitchen and clears it before she turns for the hall. Slowly she walks down the hall. Once again keeping her back to the the wall. Taking one hand, she opens the closet door and looks inside.

Quietly, she closes the door and continues down the hall to the first bedroom. Looking inside, she finds no one. Leaving the hallway, she walks over to the closet door and with he gun in one hand, she opens the door. Clearing it, she returns to the hallway. She checks the bathroom which is next door before continuing on to the end of the hall way and the final door. She glances inside, keeping her back to the wall. Once again, she finds the room empty. She quickly clears the walk-in closet and the bathroom attached to the bedroom.

After clearing the house, she slips her gun back into her holster and slowly walks towards the front of the house. As she walks into the living room, she pulls her phone from her pocket as a man shouts. "Freeze." Jumping, she looks up to see two armed MP's, weapons raised and pointed at her. "Hand's up." One of them says, as Kate continues to stare. "I said, raise your hands." He demands, taking a firmer stance.

She reaches for her coat and both men sort of growl. Raising her hands, she says. "I'm a cop, NYPD. Detective Kate Beckett." Both men look at her. "If you'll let me, I can show you may badge." She says, lowering one of her hands.

"Leave them." One of the MP's says, as he nods to his partner.

Slowly the other man lowers his weapon and walks towards, keeping clear of any potential shot his partner might need. "It's on my waist, right side." Kate says, holding her hands still.

Flipping her jacket back, the man pulls the badge free and hands it to his partner before he steps back, keeping his weapon trained on her. The other officer, glances at the badge and id before he looks a t Kate. "Stand down, Corporal." He says, handing Kate her badge. She takes it and clips it to her waist as he asks. "Do you want to tell me why you broke...?"  
"I didn't break into this house. The door was cracked when I arrived so I investigated."

"What are you doing on Fort Drummond?" The officer asks.

"I needed to speak to a Major Dennis Andrews regarding a murder I'm investigating. His assistant gave me his home address when I realized that he wasn't at his office."

"What case are you investigating?"

"I'm a homicide detective. Both of my victims are former US Army. Both have just recently retired and both were under Major Andrews command. I was lead to believe that he might be able to provide me with some information concerning an altercation between my male victim and a enlisted man about six months ago. His assistant told me that he made an emergency trip into the city two nights ago and I wanted to ask him about that trip and the other incident."

"Why didn't you inform us of this before you came here?"  
"First, no one told me I had too and if the Major isn't involved with this case then I didn't want to put undue scrutiny on him."  
"So you believe that the Major is involved with these murders you are investigating?"

"I don't really know. I do know that I find it suspicious that he takes an emergency trip to the city just two days ago, on the same day as my murder, and it was supposedly to find his wife." Kate looks around the room. "And now he's not here and his assistant is covering for him."

"His assistant is always covering for him." The corporal says, as the other officer glances at him. He's quickly quiet.

"Why didn't you call for us when you found the door open?"

"I thought someone might need immediate medical attention. I was about to call when I walked in here." She says, flashing her phone back and forth so he could see it in her hand. "Do you know where Major Andrews is?" Kate asks, looking at the officers.

"No we do not." The first officer replies.

"Do you know how I can find him? I really need to speak to him about this case."

"You should've come to us first. Civilian cops must always report to us before they do anything." The officer says.

"No one told me that." Kate replies, resenting the mans attitude.

"Before you reprimand me about Army protocol, maybe you should remind the guards at the front gate. I need to speak with Major Andrews or his commanding officer, do you know where I can find either one of them?" She asks, looking at the two men.

"I'm not sure about Major Andrews, but his commanding officer is probably at the Legion for lunch. It's the officers club." The corporal says, earning another glare from the officer beside him.

"Thank you Corporal..." She trails off not knowing his name.

"Corporal Bennett." He says, smiling at her.

"Thank you Corporal Bennett. Is it safe to assume that I can leave?" Kate asks, looking at the other officer. The other officer nods and she turns for the door as Major Andrews walks in.

"What the hell is going on?" He demands, as both officers snaps to attention.

"Sir." They say, as he looks at them

"Why are you in my house? And who is this woman?" He asks, pointing at Kate.

"Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD Sir." Kate says, showing her badge.

"What are you doing in my house?" He demands.

"I needed to ask you some questions about a case I'm investigating."

"I have no involvement in any case." He says, dismissing her.

"Sir, you don't know what questions I was going to ask or what type of case I'm investigating."  
"I haven't been to the city so..."  
"According to your assistant, you have been in the city. Two days ago, to be exact. The same day that my victims were murdered." She says, as Major Andrews looks at her along with the two officers. "Your assistant said that you left two days ago for an emergency."

"It was personal." Major Andrews replies, turning to the officers again.

"I'm sorry Sir, but that doesn't answer any of my questions." Kate presses.

He turns back to her, crossing his arms. "What questions?" He demands again.

"What were you doing in the city two days ago and why did your assistant feel the need to hid the fact that you weren't in the office this morning?"

"I told you it's personal and my assistant has standing orders to not tell anyone , except superior officers my whereabouts."

"What about your wife, Sir?" Kate asks, glancing at the portrait hanging above the fireplace.

"My wife is no longer a factor in my life, Detective."

"Where is your wife, Sir?" She asks, her tone implying that she was suspicious about her absence.

"Are you accusing me of something Detective?"

"I'm curious, you left work early for an emergency two days ago and then you return without your wife. You've been quite uncooperative."

"I've been uncooperative. You came into my house. I have no idea how you even got in my house..."  
"You front door was open when I walked up." Kate says, he stops to look at her.

"What do you mean?"

"The door was cracked when I arrived. I entered to investigate. I thought maybe someone could possibly be hurt. These officers arrived after I cleared the house." She says, as he glances at the officers. They both nod.

"A neighbor spotted her enter the house with a gun and they reported it Sir." The sergeant says. "We came to investigate."

"Have you verified her id?" Major Andrews asks.

"Of course Sir."

"Then you may go?" He says, dismissing them. When they leave, he turns to Kate. "I don't have any information pertaining to your case..."  
"Again, how can you know that? I haven't asked them yet."  
"Yes, you're focused on the fact that my wife isn't here and your find that suspicious."

"Wouldn't you?" Kate asks, crossing her arms now.

He looks at her and then nods. "My wife is in Buenos Aires with her new lover." Kate looks at him and nods once, accepting his story. "You can check my financials. She used her credit card from our joint account to pay for the tickets." He says walking over to the sideboard. He pours him a drink and then turns to her. "So you have questions about a case you're investigating?"

"Umm, yes. My victims were under your command. A Captain Whitney Rodgers and a Second Lieutenant Tiffany Green." She says, as Major Andrews stares at her. After a moment, she asks. "Are you okay, Major?"

He takes a breath and then nods slowly. "What happened to them?"

"They were shot, in an alley close to Time Square." She says, as he sits down heavily on the couch. "Did you know them well?"

"I was their commanding officer. Captain Rodgers, was the second lieutenant's direct commanding officer and I was above them both." He says, as Kate nods.

"I spoke with Captain Rodgers family."

"I'll bet his father was thrilled to know they were together."

"Do you know something about that?"

"Only that Captain Rodgers spoke to me a few days before he retired. He said that he wasn't going to live his life for his father. His father told him to leave the second lieutenant alone and to stay in the Army."

"Yeah, his father seems to that type of man that would control everyone around him. His sister mentioned a run in that Captain Rodgers had with an enlisted man right after he returned from his last tour. Do you know any more about that?"

"Only that the enlisted man accused the Captain of having an inappropriate relationship with the second lieutenant."  
"Did you investigate his claim?"

"We did, and we found no evidence of a relationship."

"What caused the enlisted man to make that type of accusation?"

"I believe because he was passed over for a promotion. He and the second lieutenant had several run-ins themselves and she had reported him for several derelictions of duty to Captain Rodgers."

"What would you say was the relationship between the lieutenant and this man, after this confrontation with Captain Rodgers?  
"There really wasn't one, the man was transferred to Fort Benning and that was the end of the issue."

"Do you know if this man has returned to New York?"

"No I don't. He could have I suppose but his unit was scheduled to be shipped to Afghanistan a few weeks ago."

"Who is his commander now?"

"I'm not sure, once he transferred to Fort Benning he was out of my control."

"Thank you." Kate says, moving to stand up. She turns to go and then turns back to Major Andrews. "Can you tell me the man's name?"

"Oh, it was Private Ryan MacNair."

"Thank you." Kate says, turning away.

"Detective Beckett, It's M-A-C for Private MacNair." He says. When she turns back to him. "And if you see Parker's family tell them I'm sorry for their loss."  
"I will, but won't you see them again."  
"I doubt it. I put in for immediate transfer to Fort Lewis, in Washington State. I leave day after tomorrow."

"I'll tell them, if I see them." She says, turning to leave. He watches her go before he gets up and walks to the front door, closing it behind her.

As she's leaving Fort Drummond, she calls Esposito. When he answers, she says. "Javi, I need you to run a couple things for me."

"Okay." He says, grabbing a pen. "Go, boss." He says.

"First I need you to run a Private Ryan MacNair, last known address and financials, do a full background as well."

"Is Mc or Mac?"

"It's M-A-C." Kate clarifies for him.

"Alright, I've got that. What's the other thing?"

"Do a full background and financial on a Major Dennis Andrews."  
"Is he a suspect?"

"No, I'm just verifying what he told me. I'm on my way back to the city now but I won't be back to the precinct before end of shift so I'll see you and Ryan tomorrow."

"Sure thing, boss. Did you find out anything?"

"Only that there was some friction between our female victim and Mr. MacNair. He was transferred to Fort Benning, shortly after the confrontation with Captain Rodgers. That's why I'm running him. I want to know if he shipped out with his unit to Afghanistan or if he made an unscheduled trip to New York."

"I'll run it and have the information for you in the morning." Espo says.  
"Thanks. Is Castle still at the precinct?"

"No, he left shortly after you did and we haven't seen him since."

"Alright, he's probably at home. I'll see you both in the morning."

"See ya then." Espo hangs up.

Apartment Building, Lower East Side:

Walking into her apartment, Tiffany's roommate closes the door behind her. It had been a long day. After speaking with the detectives investigating Tiffany's murder, she had gone to the morgue to id her friend. They hadn't been room mates long and she wouldn't even call them friends, but she knew that she was the only person besides the man Tiffany was seeing that could even be classified as family for Tiffany. Sighing, she walks over to the couch. Sinking into it, she closes her eyes. So many decisions had to be made. Decisions she had no idea what Tiffany wanted.

She sits there for a while, staring at the wall across from her. She didn't even know where to start. Did she want to be cremated or buried. If she wanted to be buried, what should she select for her to wear. Did she even have the money for a funeral? Opening her eyes, she looks down at the coffee table and sees an envelope sitting there. She hadn't noticed it before the detectives came but then she hadn't really been in the room either. Reaching for the envelop, she picks it up and flips it over. Scrawled across the front was her name. Slowly she opens the envelope and pulls out a letter.

Opening it, she looks down at the signature. Seeing that it's from Tiffany, she takes a deep breath. "Dear Adrian..." She reads. "I know this will come as shock to you, but I'm getting married soon. I love him and I know I never said anything about him or really told you anything about myself. I've learned to be very guarded in the years since I left Texas. I had too. I was never in any kind of trouble so please don't think that, but my life was never really my own either. I guess I'll start at the beginning.

My parents died when I was quite young and I went to live with my Aunt Mable, yes that was truly her name. Anyway, she was involved with an organization in Texas. It was suppose to be a church but it was more of a cult than anything resembling a true church, but anyway when I was twenty a man came to the church and he worked his way into the good graces of our "pastor" and then asked for my hand in marriage. We were married before my twenty first birthday and we stayed married for three years before I had the courage to leave him and the cult.

It was one thing to leave my marriage, it was another to leave my marriage and the organization. Reverend Sanders was a very passive man. But he still knew how to manipulate you. And he didn't appreciate anyone leaving the organization for the outside world. I know you're probably wondering why I'm telling you this. But over the last few days, I've had the feeling that something wasn't right, like maybe I was being watched. That we both were being watched, not so much you, but me and Parker. Anyway, I've written this down in case something happens to me. It may not be anything, but if something does happen, tell the police to look into my ex husband, Jesse Brooks and a Reverend Jedidiah Sanders. Somehow they are connected to whatever happened. I know this is a lot to process and I hope that you never have to read this letter. I hope that Parker and I are able to get married and leave the city before anything becomes of this feeling I have in my gut, but if something does happen, then please take this letter to the police. The key is to a post office box that I rented in Time Square. Sincerely, Tiff."

For a long moment, Adrian stares at the note and then at the key. She reaches for her purse and then she sits back again, unsure of what to do. Finally she decides to wait until morning. Putting the note back in the envelope, she puts it in her purse and then gets up trudging towards the bathroom.

It took Jesse about an hour to drive from Dallas to Celina. He wasn't sure what he was going to do when he got there, but he wanted to be able to keep an eye on the Reverend, just in case he decided to do something stupid. He wasn't above handling the Reverend like he handled his ex and her lover. Pulling into the only hotel in Celina, he checks in. Once he gets to his room, he walks in and then sighs the room looks like it's from a bad porn movie. That was the only way to describe it. Dropping his bag on the bed, he stretches out beside it and falls asleep. He hadn't slept since the night before. He couldn't chance it. He had a tendency to talk in his sleep. Closing his eyes, he tries to sleep, but he can't. He haunted by Tiffany's eyes as he shot her. He wasn't suppose to feel guilty. She cheated on him. She left him. Sighing,he opens his eyes, and stares up at the ceiling.

Kate dropped her car at the station and caught a cab back to Castle's loft. Alexis was out with her friends. Since she and Pi had broken up and she had moved back home, she was much happier, as was her father and she had a lot more time to be the nineteen year old girl she missed out on being after she and Pi had moved in together. Walking over to the study, she walks in to find Castle at his desk. Leaned back in his chair, eyes closed and his screen saver flashing across his laptop, telling him that he should be writing. Leaning against the door frame for a moment, she watches him sleep and a twinge of sadness rushes over her

Sighing softly, she walk across the room to their bedroom. Quietly opening the door, she walks inside. Immediately slipping off the four inch heals she was wearing, she pads across the carpet to the bathroom. After flipping the light switch, she walks over to the bathtub and starts the water, before she handles her other business. Getting undressed, she steps into the bathtub and then sinks down into the water, letting the heat and bubbles sweep away the day.

She has her head leaning against the wall behind her with her eyes closed when Castle walks up. He leans against the door frame, watching her for several seconds, long enough for it to feel creepy if Kate caught him doing it. "When did you get back?" He asks quietly. Jumping, she opens her eyes to stare at him for a moment. Pushing away from the door frame, he walks over to the tub.

"About thirty minutes ago. You were asleep so I didn't wake you."

"Did you learn anything about the case?" He asks, sitting on the side of the tub.

"Not much. The man Captain Rodger had his altercation with was a Private Ryan MacNair. I've already spoke to Javi and asked him to run a check on him."

"Did the Major explain what the altercation was about?"

"Hey why don't you join me?" She says, noticing the uncomfortable position he's sitting in. He looks at her and then smiles before he stands up. Undressing, he walks over to the tub as she moves forward and he slips in behind her.

When he's settled, he asks again. "What was the altercation about?"

"Major Andrews said that Private MacNair accused your cousin of having an inappropriate relationship with Second Lieutenant Green."

"Did they investigate the claim?"

"Yes, and he said they found no proof there was any kind of relationship between them."

"So why did he make the accusation?"

"Apparently the Lieutenant had reported Private MacNair on several occasions for dereliction of duty."

"So the altercation was a setup to case trouble for the Lieutenant."

"Yes, and possibly why your uncle forbade your cousin from seeing her after he retired. Major Andrews said that he spoke with your cousin just before he retired and your cousin told him that he had decided to live his life the way he wanted. He also asked me to convey his condolences to your family."

"Why you? He'll likely see them before you do." Castle says, playing with her hair.

"That's what I said to, but the Major has requested an immediate transfer to Fort Lewis."

"Isn't that a bit suspicious?"

"No, he was never a suspect. I only wanted to speak to him to get the information I just told you."

There are several moments of silence before Castle asks. "Do we know where Private MacNair is? Or were you able to speak to him too?"

"No, I wasn't. After the altercation with your cousin, he transferred to Fort Benning. His unit was scheduled to be shipped out to Afghanistan a few weeks ago."

"Anyway of verifying that he was with them when they shipped out?"

"I have Javi looking into that as well."

"Well, it sounds like you've got everything covered."  
"Except that we still know very little about the Lieutenant."

"I'm sure that boys found out something today. Did you ask Espo when you talked to him?"

"No, I was focused on Private MacNair." After a moment she sighs.

"What's wrong?"

"I was just wondering what is up with that."

"With what?"

"Why I'm not as focused on the Lieutenant as I am your cousin."

"Maybe instinct tells you the story is with my cousin." He says, slowly running his hands down her arms.

After taking a moment to consider what he said she shakes her head no. "I don't think that's what it is."

"Then what is it?"

She pauses for another moment before she replies. "I think I want to make sure that your family gets the answers that my family has struggled so hard to find."

"These are different cases Beckett." He says, still caressing her arms.

"They maybe different circumstances surrounding them, but it's essentially the same thing. And your family deserves to know what happened and why."

"Both questions of which you will answer for us." He says, kissing the side of her neck. "The boys are looking into the lieutenant's background so we'll find all the answers to questions." After several moment of silence, he asks. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, I sort of am. I didn't stop on the way up or back..."  
"You haven't eaten since breakfast." He asks, sitting up straighter.

"I was sort of busy." She says, as he sets her forward. "Where are you going?" She asks, as he climbs out of the tub.

"I am going to fix you something to eat." He says, taking a towel and drying off.

"We were taking a bath together."

"I'll take a shower later. You need to eat." He says, standing up from drying off his legs. He looks at her, seeing the disappointment on her face, he walks over to the tub and leans down, kissing her softly. After a moment, he steps back and looks into her eyes. "We couldn't've done anything anyway."

"It'll only be a few more days." She says, looking up at him.

"Then I'll wait. Now finish your bath and I'll go make you something to eat." He says, kissing her quickly before he stands up.

She watches as he walks out of their bathroom. Smiling as she settles back, more than a year ago, she wouldn't've let a man take care of her. She was too independent and too focused on giving everything to everyone else. Castle changed all of that. Sighing, she quickly finishes her bath. Getting out, she reaches for the towel he left for her. Drying off quickly, she tugs on a pair of his boxers and one of his t-shirts, not bothering with underwear before she leaves the bedroom.

Castle's at the stove, making her favorite. "You didn't have to be that complicated." She says, nodding to the boiling water for spaghetti."

"I had already made the sauce for Alexis and Mother earlier." He says, reheating the sauce he had put away a few hours before.

"How is Martha?" She asks, getting up and walking around the island to the refrigerator. She pours herself a glass of tea and then goes back to the island.

"I think she's okay." He says, dropping the pasta into the boiling water and stirring it to keep it from sticking together. When he's satisfied that it's not going to, he turns to her. "I mean she's upset about Parker's death, but I think it's more for Alice's pain than the pain of losing her nephew."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, after you left I stayed at the precinct for a bit but with you gone and the boys doing other things there really wasn't anything left for me to do, so I decided to come home and maybe do some writing, which I did do eventually. But when I got home, I was walking towards my office and I heard someone upstairs crying. So I went to see about it. Mother told me she was going to go to her school and do some things, so I wasn't expecting her to be here. I thought maybe Alexis was home and upset about her break up with Pi. Anyway, I went upstairs and I found mother, on her bed, looking at a box of my baby things. You know, little momentos of me growing up, letters and cards I've given her, things I made in school, pictures I had drawn when I was little, stuff like that." He says, as she nods. He pulls out the pasta and after straining it, he puts it on a plate, covered with sauce and sits it before her, before he goes to the refrigerator and gets the parmasane cheese.

She smiles when he sprinkles a generous amount onto the spaghetti before he sits it down and then sits down beside her. "Is she okay?" Kate asks, glancing towards the stairs.

"She's fine now. After dinner, she went to her studio to work on some stuff for her students. But it was just weird to come home to her crying over my baby things. Almost like I was the one that was gone. She said she kept thinking about all the things that my aunt Alice will miss now, things that Parker will never get to do or see."

"I know how she feels." Kate says, quietly.

He looks at her and then lays his hand on her arm. "I know you do. I don't want to think about the day that she's not here anymore and if you tell her that, then I have a special punishment for you." He says, looking at her.

"Rick, I know you love your mom. You might jokingly complain about her living here, but it's been the two of you before there was ever Meredith, Gina, or even Alexis, even me." He leans over to kiss her.

"I don't like seeing her in pain. And this morning, I wanted to slap her brother." Rick says, reliving the comments his uncle made to Martha when she walked in with him and Beckett.

"There are many narrow minded individuals." She says, as she's eating her spaghetti. "Do you remember what happened at your grandfather's funeral?"

"Only vaguely, Mom came to school one afternoon, which was unusal because she was in rehearsals, but she came and she pulled me out. And told me about my grandfather dying. I was actually a little surprised. I had never thought about my grandparents. Well I did fleetingly, but I never said anything to her about it. Like I never asked about my father. We left immediately for upstate. I remember it took a long time for us to get there, at least it seemed that way for me. When we arrived, most of the family was there, but Uncle Whitney and my grandmother were at the funeral home making arrangements."

"What happened when they arrived?" Kate asks, finishing up her spaghetti.

"Well, I was upstairs with Parker, Justine wasn't there yet and there were a few other cousins there. We were all playing. I remember hearing loud voices. We all went to the top of the stairs, listening to the argument below. And I remember a man saying that my mom had no say in the arrangements because she chose to turn her back on them and raise her bastard. Mom is boisterous, and flamboyant, but this time her voice was different. It wasn't long after that, that she came up the stairs, gathered me up and our things and we left."

"Did she stay for the funeral?"

"Yes, but we didn't sit with the rest of the family. And then after the service, she spoke with a man and then we left."

"And you never went back." Kate asks, getting up and rinsing her plate before she puts it in the dishwasher. Sitting it to wash later after they went to bed.

"No. We went our way and they went theirs."

"When you were listening to the argument, did your cousins realize they were talking about you?"

"I don't know. I never asked them and we left shortly after that." He replies, as she walks back over to him.

"You know what they said about you then, it's not true." She says, slipping her arms around him.

"I never felt like it was. I've never missed not having my father around." He says, putting his arms around her waist.

She pauses for a moment before she says. "It's hard for me to picture that. You never questioned her about your dad." She asks, as he shakes his head no.

"Well, I may have mentioned it when I was little, but I was raised around all these different people, characters and actors from her shows. And she's more than enough woman to make up for not having my dad."

"And what about when you went off to school and the other kids would have their dad's there."

"We were all boarding school kids, most of us didn't have constant contact with our parents. My mom came and got me every holiday and summer vacation. There were kids there that spent all of their time at the schools I went to."

"And kids never asked you about your father?"

"I don't remember them asking me about my dad and if they did well I probably told them that my mom was all the parent I needed. That's what she would always tell me. "Ricky, I'm all you will ever need in this life." He says with a slight smile and a shrug of her shoulders.

"She called you Ricky." Kate says, with a smile.

"Yeah until I was about thirteen and I finally put my foot down, demanding that she either call me Richard or Rick."

"I like Ricky."

"Don't call me that!" He grouses as she laughs

She leans in, nipping at his bottom lip. "I can't even call you that when we're..."  
"Especially not then!" He exclaims, sitting back as she laughs. "Since we can't, do you want to watch a movie? I've got the new Superman movie that came out last summer."

"You got Man of Steel?"

"Yes, bought a few weeks ago."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She demands, as he laughs. Getting up, he takes her hand and they walk into the living room. Settling down beside each other to watch Superman save the world.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

As the credits roll, Castle looks over and smiles. As harrowing as the last couple days have been, this is still the best life he could ever have. Reaching for the remote, Kate stops the DVD and then she looks at him and smiles. Realizing that he's not really seeing her, she reaches up and touches his cheek, gently caressing it. "What are you thinking?" She asks once she has his attention.

"I was thinking that as harrowing as the last couple days have been, this is the best life I could ever hope for." She looks at him and smiles before she sits up. "Where are you going?" He asks, reaching out to stop her.

"I feel like a bath." She says, leaning over to kiss him. When she pulls away, she whispers. "Give me a couple minutes, and then come join me." She stands up and walks away while he watches her. A couple minutes later, he walks over to the door to their bathroom. He taps lightly on the door. "Come on in, Castle." Slowly he opens the door and then steps through. She sighs when she realizes he's still fully dressed. "When I said join me, I meant like in here, with me." She says, pointing to the bathtub.

He closes the door and then reaches up and unbuttons a couple of buttons off his dress shirt and then reaching back, he pulls it over his head. Dropping it to the floor, he slips his shoes off next. He feels her eyes on him, watching every move he makes. Glancing up, he smiles when he sees that she's biting her lower lip. And it hits him once again how sexy that one little move is. Reaching for his belt, he pulls it free and then unfastens his pants.

The water in the tub feels hotter to her as she watches him. "Okay, so it's that time of the month." She thought. "This is one way they could fool around and not have to worry about the mess." She's lost in her thoughts when the jingling of his belt catches her full attention. She bites her lower lip firmer as she watches him pull his zipper down, and she catches a glimpse of his silk boxers. "If you keep biting the lip like that, you're going to bite it off." He says, smiling as she looks up and he walks over to her. When he's close enough, he can see her teeth marks in her lip. Leaning down, he kisses her. Slowly moving his tongue over the tracks she left on her lip, soothing it. He pulls away as she looks up. " As sexy as that is, I would hate to see you bite a hole in your lip." He says with a smile.

She smiles back and then says. "Are you just going to kiss me?"

Standing up, he pulls his pants down, along with his boxers before he pulls his socks off. While he is finishing, she sits up and when he stands back up she scoots forward so that he can slips in behind her. When he's settled behind her, she moves back against him and lays her head on his chest. When she's settled, he wraps his arms around her and lightly kisses the side of her neck. "This water is really hot."

"Is it too hot?"

"No, but I didn't realize you liked it this hot."

"Oh I don't usually have it this warm, but I plan on being in here for a while." She says, playing with his fingers on her stomach.

"Why?"

She doesn't answer him immediately. "Well we need to relax a little bit, I thought and there's another reason." She says, still playing with his fingers.

He takes her hands, holding them still. "There's another reason for the hot water?" He asks, leaning to the side to get a better look at her face. He can't see her face full on, but he has a view a good view of her profile. "Okay, what do you have planned?" He asks, as she pulls away from him. He holds onto her for a moment before he lets her go. Turning to him, she scrapes her lip with her teeth before she leans forward, kissing him softly.

The heat from the water and the softness of her kiss rolls over him, heating his blood and driving it deep into his core. He feels his bodies response. For a moment, he sinks into her kiss, trying to ignore his brain that says they can't do this. It's not time. But it can't be ignored and finally he gives up, pulling away. She fights to hold onto him for a moment before he sits her back. "Kate, we can't. It's not time..."

She lays a finger across his mouth, silencing him. She kisses his neck and then whispers. "I've taken care of it." He pulls back, looking at her and not understanding what she meant. "Touch me." She says, leaning in again, teasing his neck and chest with her mouth.

For a moment, he pauses and then he lays his hand on her shoulder. Resting it there for a moment as he's distracted by her kiss. She reaches for his hand. Laying it on her side, she nips at his lip, tugging on it. She feels him tense and she smiles against his lips.

Slowly he moves his hand over her body. Stopping for a moment, he cups one of her breasts, teasing her nipple with his fingers until it's a harden peak. She feels heat flood her body. Not from the water but from him, his touch. The way he knows exatly what to do to make her want him. Laying her hand on his chest, she bends her fingers and slowly moves her hand down his chest, scratching him.

They both reach for each other at the same time. He pauses, teasing her. He smiles, nipping at her bottom lip before he pulls away. He plays her, like he's caressing the keyboard of his laptop, thinking of a hot, sensual scene for Nikki and Rook. Closing her eyes, she lets herself relish the feel of his fingers caressing her body until it's obvious that this is all he's going to do. Opening her eyes, she looks into this clear blue ones. Seeing the small smile on his lips, she realizes he thinks this is all she wants. "Inside me." She says, moving her hips against his hand.

It takes a moment for him to realize that she said something. "What?"

"Put your fingers inside me." She says, moving her hips again.

"Kate, you're..."  
"Do it Rick, put them inside me." Tentatively, he touches her, teasing her entrance and clearly afraid of hurting her. "Now!" She commands, her voice a little on the hard side.

Slipping the tip of his fingers into her entrance, he looks up when he doesn't find what he's expecting to be there. When the realization hits his eyes, she leans in. Kissing him, as she wraps her hand around him. She squeezes him and then smiles when she feels the muscles in his stomach clinch. "Kate." He groans.

She's still kissing him as she turns completely around. Kneeling between his legs. She braces one hand on the side of the tub while she continues teasing him. He reaches for her. Slipping a couple of fingers inside her, he presses his thumb against her while he pumps his fingers in and out of her, mimicking their natural rhythm. It takes less than a minute for him to realize that she doesn't want his fingers, she wants him. The throbbing, harden, silky piece of steel between his legs, that's what she wants.

Straddling him, she moves into his waiting arms. Guiding him into her, she tease him by teasing her entrance with the tip of his erection. She looks up. For a moment, she was distracted by the feel of him. "Kate!" He groans, reaching for her upper arms., caressing her. She sinks onto him, taking him deep and savoring the feeling of them being connected. He drops his hands to her hips. Grasping them as she begins a slow ride, sliding back and forth.

Leaning forward, he kisses her. As the heat builds, he moves his hand from her hips. Wrapping them around her, squeezing her butt as she moves quicker. The water starting to roll with them, adding to the surges of desire that's rushing through them. Sinking lower into the water, he lifts his legs. Planting his feet flat on the bottom, he lifts his hips and thrusts into her. "Rick." She cries out, feeling him as he caresses her body exactly where she needs it. Something she didn't realize she even wanted until he thrust into her.

He surges forward again, as she rolls her hips, sliding over him. Desire breathes between them, pushing the ecstasy sweeping through them. Bending her nails, they bite into his shoulders. He feels it, but he's focused on other things, other feelings and desires. They each set a steady rhythm. He thrusts deep as she rolls her hips over and over. Their release breaks, surprising them. He wraps his arms around her, holding her still. A moment later, he looks up as she looks into his eyes. He reaches up, lightly caressing her cheek as she leans forward. Kissing her, teasing her lips until she opens her mouth and his tongue slips inside. Pulling away, he looks up and smiles. "I had no idea." He says, as she laughs. She moves to settle against him. He stops her. Pulling free, he says. "Turn around."

"I have no problem making love with you while I'm on my cycle Castle, but we're not doing anal." She says.

He grins. "As much as I like making love with you at anytime, I don't think I could do anything right now. I simply want to hold you and you can't be all that comfortable, right now." He says, reaching up to caress her face.

Turning around and settling against him, she lays her head back against his chest as he wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her back against him. After a moment, she says. "You said you had no idea. You had no idea about what?"

"That could be done." He says, kissing the side of her neck.

She moves to look at him. "Wait, you never had sex with Gina or Meredith while they were on their cycle?" She asks, watching him.

"No, they never wanted me to touch them, let alone be in the same bed with them."

"So, where did you sleep?"

"Most nights, I usually fell asleep on the couch in my office after writing. Other times I was upstairs in the guest room."

"I can't believe they booted you out of your own bed." She says, settling back against him.

"To be fair, I don't think it was because they really didn't want me there. It was more the hormones thing." He says, slowly moving his hands up her arms.

"The hormones thing?" She asks, turning to look up at him again.

"Yeah, Meredith and Gina both were incredibly hormonal during that time. Anything could set them off. Either they would be crying or angry, I never knew which. So at the time being banned to the couch or guest room was better than being divorced, or castrated." He says with a smile.

"Oh please, no woman is ever going to castrate you." She says, turning around again. "You're too good with that thing." She whispers, as feels his chest expand with male pride for a moment before he kisses the side of her neck.

"Thank you." He says softly, laying his chin on her shoulder. She snuggles back against him, pulling his arms tighter around her.

When the water starts to cool, they both stand up after she pulls the plug and he pulls the curtain, turning on the shower. They'finish by washing each other. And when they're through, Castle reaches around and turns the water off. Kissing her before he pulls the curtain back. He helps her out and then hands her a towel before he begins drying off. Laying his towel on the counter, he looks around for her clothes. "Did you get something to wear?"

"No." She says, standing up from wrapping her hair in a towel.

"Which one, skimpy short set, or flannel?" He asks, finally hanging up his towel.

"Umm, what about a pair of panties and one of your shirts." She replies, walking over to the sink. He looks at her and then smiles before he turns to go. While he's gone, she takes that time to finish her business. Washing her hands, she reaches for her brush after taking her hair down. She's brushing it out, when he walks back in, carrying her clothes. He stands there for a moment, watching her before she looks up and smiles. "Are you going to bed like that?" She asks, slowly moving her eyes down his body through the mirror.

"Maybe?" He says, leaning against the counter as she looks at him. "Alright, fine." He says, leaving the bathroom. He doesn't come back to the bathroom after he leaves. When she steps from the bathroom, she expects to find him in bed, leaning back against the headboard, waiting for her entrance. The room's empty. Looking towards his office, she notices a small light coming from there. Walking over to the door, she looking inside and finds him buried in his laptop. She walks over to him quietly. "Thought you were coming to bed." She says, sliding her hand through his hair.

He looks up and smiles. "I was and then inspiration hit." He says, nodding towards his laptop.

She glances at the screen and sees that he's working on the next Nikki and Rook story and she smiles. Leaning in, she kisses the side of his head and whispers. "Don't stay up too late." He smiles as she runs her fingers through his hair again before she walks away. When she reaches the door, she looks back and says. "Rick."

He looks up. "What we just did better not end up in that book." He smiles his little boy grin and she stops turning back around to look at him as she crosses her arms. "Rick?"

"Relax and go to bed." He says, turning his attention back to his laptop.

"I want to read that before you give it to Gina." She says, still standing in the doorway. He looks up and grins. His blue eyes twinkling.

"Alright." He says, still smiling. She looks at him and then turns to leave. Apparently satified that he wasn't going to give any details of their sex life to his fans. Truth be told, while what just happened had inspired him to write, there was no way he was ever going to tell his fans any of the details surrounding this latest inspiration.

Adrian, spent the night tossing and turning. She didn't know what to do. Should she got to the mailbox or straight to Det. Ryan. Around six am, she finally gives up and gets up. Making a pot of coffee, she picks up Tiffany's letter and re-reads it, hoping for some inspiration on what to do. Finally after a couple hours, she gets in the shower, leaving the apartment about thirty minutes later.

For the first time she felt jumpy walking the streets of New York. She'd lived int the city all her life. She knew about the dangers, but she never thought it would come this close to her. As she stands on the street corner, she looks around, watching the people rushing to work, or whatever important appointment they had. She tried to pay attention to the men around, worried that one of them could have been Tiff's killer. As she's crossing the street a few blocks away from where Tiffany's body was found, she makes a decision. She turns for 12th precinct and Det. Ryan.

Espo's at his desk, when Kate and Rick walk into the precinct. Walking over ot her desk, she puts her stuff down as Rick sits down in his chair beside her desk. "Espo, where's Ryan?"

"He called, said he was running late, rough night with Sarah." Espo says.

Kate nods, and then sits down at her desk, turning on her computer. She logs on to the NYPD work site and other systems that she'll use during the day. When she's done, she turns to Espo. "Do you have any information on the two people I gave you last night?"

"Umm, yeah. I ran Major Andrews financials and background. Everything checks out, his wife bought two one way tickets to Brazil, three weeks ago and paid for them with their joint account. Major Andrews was in the city the night of the murders, but he was no where near the location at the time they were committed. And his CO confirms that he's requested an immediate transfer to Fort Lewis." Espo says, as Kate nods. "As to Private Ryan, I'm still running checks, but so far it seems like when he left New York for Georgia, he hasn't been back. I've got a call into his command in Georgia, to confirm that he shipped out with his unit to Afghanistan."

"Alright, let me know when that confirmation comes in. Is there any information about our female victim?"

"Ryan was working on that." Espo says, as Kate nods with a sigh.

"You okay?" Rick asks, putting his phone down.

"Yeah, just anxious to know get things rolling." She says, glancing at the murder board.

"Ryan will be here and at least you fairly sure that the guy that Parker fought with wasn't in the city at..."

"We don't know that for sure Castle and we won't until we speak to his CO." Kate says, as Espo turns to her after hanging up his phone.

"Yo, Beckett. I just spoke with Private MacNair's Co. He was shipped out to Afghanistan, two weeks ago."

"So, he wasn't in the states when the murders happened." Kate says, getting up and walking over to the murder board. Rick follows her.

"What are you thinking?"

"Maybe this has nothing to do with the Army or their connections to the Army."

"So, what are you thinking brought this on?"

"I'm not sure. Any ideas?" She asks, glancing at him.

"Well, maybe is was a murder suicide thing." He says, as Kate looks at him.

"No evidence indicates a murder suicide. The trajectory for the wounds is wrong for self-inflected gun shots. And neither victim had GSR on their hands. It was on your cousins shirt but only around the entrance wound."

"So it was a personal killing, ruling out a random mugging or gang shooting."

"Probably." Kate says, as Kevin walks in."

"Sorry, I'm late." He says, walking over to his desk.

"Sleepless night?" Kate asks, watching him.

"Yeah, Sarah Grace is having problems with colic and we just couldn't get her to sleep last night." Kevin says, sighing as he reaches his coffee.

"Alexis never had that." Castle says. "The only time she cried was when she started teething. When it comes to that, baby oragel and frozen teething rings worked wonders." He says, as Kate looks at him. He glances her way and notices the look in her eyes. "You'll be a wonderful mother." He whispers so the boys don't hear him.

"So do we have anything new?" Kevin ask, looking at them.

"Only that the man that fought with Castle's cousin was shipped out to Afghanistan two weeks ago." Kate says, turning back to the murder board.

"So he wasn't even in the country." Kevin says, walking over to them as they both shake their heads.

"Do we have anything on the other victim?" Kate asks, looking at Kevin.

"I talked with her roommate, but she really didn't have anything to add. They had only been living together for a few weeks, and weren't that close."

"So, we're at a dead in." Kate says, as LT walks into the bullpen.

"Detective Ryan." He says, walking up to her.

"Yes." He says, turning to him.

"There's someone here to see you, and Adrian Barnes." LT says.

Kevin to turns towards the elevators and sees Tiffany's room mate waiting for him. "Thanks, LT." He says.

"We might have a lead." He says, turning back to the others.

"Who's that?" Kate asks, looking at the woman

"That is the room mate." Kevin says, before he turns and walks away. Kate, Castle and Espo, watch as he walks up to the woman.

"Ms. Barnes." Kevin says, walking up to her.

"Detective Ryan, I didn't know what to do. You said to contact you if I remember anything about the last couple days." She says, as Kevin nods.

"Did you...?"  
"No, but last night I was sitting in my living room last night, thinking about..." She pauses for a moment and then takes a deep breath. "Anyway, I was thinking about Tiffany and I noticed this." She says, opening her purse and pulling out an envelope. She hands it to Kevin and he takes it. "It's a letter from her. I don't know when she wrote it, but I think you need to read it. There's a key in there as well to a mail box that she says she rented in Time Square." Adrian says, nodding to the envelope Ryan was holding.

"Do you know what was in there?"

"No, I..." She pauses looking around the bullpen.

"Here, let's go into the conference room." He says, guiding her into the room.

She sits down and Ryan takes the chair opposite her. For a moment there's silence and then she sighs. "I..." She pauses again. " I realized last night that I have no idea what her wishes were. Did she want to be buried, or cremated? If she's buried what should she be in? Does she have anyone else besides her deceased Aunt Mable?"

"I could probably answer some of those questions, my partner might be able to answer some." Kevin says, as she looks at him with a question in her eyes. "I don't think she had any other family. No one came up when we ran her background, save for her deceased Aunt. She was an only child and her parents died when she was two. I doubt she even remembered them."

"I know it's sad that we were room mates but we never talked about personal things."

"How long were you room mates?"

"Only a few weeks, I knew she had a guy. I heard her crying one night and I asked her about it the next morning. She told that she was in love with a guy but that they couldn't be together anymore. She never went into detail why?"

"Did you ask?"

"Yeah, but she would only say that it was complicated and then she would leave the room, or change the subject."

"Did you get the feeling that she was hiding or running from someone?"

"No, just caution and private, very private. I never thought about those things. Or why she was so determined not to say too much about herself. And this is rather pathetic to say, but I had my own life."

"That's understandable."

"You said something about your partner being able to help with the details for her burial."

"Well, he's former special forces, I'm sure he could provide you with information on things like this. Would you want to speak with him?" Kevin asks, looking at her.

"I can't see how it would hurt. I have no idea where to go, or how to start this process."

"I know that you only met Ms. Green a few weeks ago, so if you want the city could handle...  
"No, I'll handle her arrangements. I'm just not sure where to start."

"Well, I'm sure Esposito can help you with that." Kevin says. "I can go get him if..."

"Yes, thank you." Adrian says, as he gets up. Nodding he leaves the room. He returns a few moments later with Espo following behind him. "Ma'am, this is my partner, Detective Javier Esposito." Kevin says, as Adrian stands up, holding out her hand.

"Ma'am." Javi says, nodding for her to sit back down. "My partner tells me that you need help planning, Ms. Green's arrangements for burial."

"Yes."

"As you know the city..."  
"Mr... I mean Detective. While I hadn't known my room mate for long, I'm not going to send her off to the county for burial. She deserves better than that." She says, fiercely.

"Of course, ma'am. Then I'll provide you with what information that I do know from my time in the service. Most soldiers that are killed in action are immediately entitled to burial benefits from the government, however, in this case. It doesn't apply. There can be military honors for Ms. Green, but the actual burial or cremation will have to be paid privately. I'm sorry." Javi says, as Adrian lowers her head. "Do you know if Ms. Green had any life insurance or burial insurance?" Javi asks, as she shrugs her shoulders.

"I don't know." She whispers as he nods.

He looks at Kevin and then says. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more assistance, ma'am." She looks up and nods. Slowly standing up, he glances at Kevin before he leaves the room.

After a moment, she looks up and catches Kevin watching her. "I'll be fine, Detective." She says, her voice still quiet. She takes a moment to look around and notices everyone going about their day, working. "I believe I've taken up enough of your time. I hope the letter and mailbox helps find her killer." Adrian says, slowly standing up.

"Ma'am." He says, reaching out to stop her from leaving.

She pats his hand and then smiles a waning smile. "I will be fine, don't worry detective." She says, before she turns and walks slowly to the door. He watches her go.

As the elevator doors open, Kevin walks into the bullpen. Kate, Castle and Javi are looking over the letter that their victim left. "Do you think this organization has something to do with her murder?" Javi asks.

"I don't know, but we should probably look into it." Kate says, re-reading the letter.

"What about the mailbox?" Castle asks.

"Javi and Kevin, do some digging and see what you can find out about this organization she's speaking about. Castle and I will go to this mailbox and see if there's anything there." The boys turn to follow her instructions while she grabs her purse and coat. "You comin Castle?" She asks, as he quickly steps up to follow her, less like the lost puppy that followed her everywhere she went when this started four years ago and more like the loyal dog following it's master. "Not that I think I'm his master." She thinks to herself. "Oh Kate, stop. It's just a thought. It's not like he can read your mind."

"What's up?" Castle asks, looking at her as they walk towards the elevator.

"What! Nothing, just thinking about the case." She says, reaching out to push the button. He looks at her and then smiles. "What!" She exclaims, glancing at him as she pushes the button for the first floor.

"Nothing, it's just that I know when you're thinking something you don't want to tell me about." He says, stepping back against the wall.

"Castle, I'm not thinking..." He looks at her. "Alright, I was thinking about how you used to follow me around like a little lost puppy and how now it's more like you're my loyal dog following me around, not that I think you're a dog or anything, it's just..."

"I know what you meant. I don't particularly care for the dog reference, but I understand. And I will always be loyal to you." He says, leaning over to quick kiss her lips before he steps back as the doors open to the first floor. Putting his hand on her lower back, he guides her out of the elevator. When they're free, his hand remains in the same spot as they walks towards the door. A few people stop to watch as they walk by, but most of the officers are used to Castle and Beckett by now and they go on about what they were doing.

When they reach the cruiser, Castle gets in as Kate walks around to her side, he leans over and opens her door. She shakes her head as she smiles. Getting in, she closes her door as she glances at him and then starts the car. Backing out, as he says. "What do you think we'll find in this mail box?"

"I'm not sure." She replies, turning the corner and heading towards Time Square.

Shortly before ten, Martha is wrapping up a class when she looks up and sees her sister-in-law waiting. "Alright kiddo's that's the end of class for today. Next week we'll start the new scenes, but you can start rehearsing together with your partner. Good work everyone." She says, as the students walk over to their desks, grabbing their books and bags. They file past the woman waiting at the back of the room.

When the room's empty, she takes a step forward as Martha closes up the class. "You're really good with them." She says.

"Thank you." Martha says, putting things away. There's an awkward moment of silence before she turns to her sister-in-law. "Does Whitney...?"  
"He doesn't know that I'm here. He's making arrangements to take..." She pauses for a moment and then says. "He's making arrangements to take our boy home."

Martha stands there for a moment and then walks over to her. Taking her hand, she leads her over to one of the desks and they sit down. There's another moment of silence but this one is less awkward. "This is so hard. He's not supposes..." Alice says, crying softly.

Martha reaches for her hand. As much as her family had hurt her when they turned their back on her and Rick, she didn't want them to go through this. "I know." She says softly.

"He was happy with that girl. I knew it and I knew that Whit wouldn't give in about her but I never stood up to him. It's always been Whit's way or nothing at all and now our son is dead."

"As much as I resent my brother sometimes, you can't blame him for this Alice. He's hurting too. He lost his son as well."

"He lost him because he demanded that he give up the one thing that made him happy. Just like your father did and like Whit did with Richard. I've kept up with his career, Martha. He's and awesome writer." Alice says, looking at her.

"He is." Martha says, nodding.

She continues crying and Martha puts an arm around her. "I'm so..."

"Don't apologize for grieving for your son. I don't even want to think about something happen to Rick. Although something could happen to him on any day that he and Kate walk out of the house. I can't demand that he stop what he's doing because he could get hurt. My nor Whit never realized that you can't control what your heart wants. Parker wanted this young lady so he came after her and someone else took him away from you. If you blame anyone for what's happened, blame the person that killed him and be there for my brother as much as he'll try to push you away."

"I don't know how you don't resent all of us." Alice says, looking at her.

Martha's silent for a moment and then she sighs before she says. "I will not deny that I'm not angry with the way Whit treated me after our father died or what he said that night about Rick, but I will not let that color the way I feel about what's happening right now. You both lost your son, something no parent, me included, ever wants to face. You both deserve to have family around you, including my brother, even if he won't accept it."

With a small smile, Alice stands up. "I'll need to get back before he questions where I've gone. Thank you for listening."

"You're welcome, but remember what I said. You're both going to need each other, especially now." Martha says, as she stands up.

"Thank and I will." Alice says, hugging her. Martha hugs her back but releases her as soon as she steps back.

Alice wants to say more, but what is there to say. Nodding she turns to leave and standing by that desk, Martha stands there and watches her go.

With traffic, it took Castle and Beckett a while to get to the mailbox. Walking into the store, they look around as a clerk walks up to them. "May I help you."

"Detective Kate Beckett." Kate says, flashing her badge.

"How can I help you, Detective?" The clerk asks, glancing at Richard. "Hey, aren't you..."  
"It doesn't matter who my colleague is. I'm here on official police business. I need the contents of the mailbox belonging to a Tiffany Green."

"I'm sorry but it's against company policy for anyone other than the box holder to open the box."

Kate looks around and then looks back at the clerk. "I can get a warrant to search the mailbox, however if I have to do that, we'll have to take a look at all of your operations and possibly involve the city for inspections and..."  
""Alright, alright." The clerk says, pulling up the computer. She types in the name Kate gave him. "Do you know her birth date?"

"Yes, it's 03.20.1984."

The clerk nods. "It's box number 3933."

"Thank you." Kate says, turning around and walking over to the mailboxes. Castle follows her. Quickly she locates the box and slipping the key inside, she opens the box to find it empty."

"What's in...?" Castle looks inside and then looks at Kate.

She turns around and asks the clerk. "Are you sure that's the only box she has?"

"Yes, that's the only box." The clerk replies, as Beckett looks at Castle.

Closing the mail box, they leave the store. As they walks towards her cruiser, Castle asks. "What do you think that means?"

"I have no idea." She says, as they walk up to her cruiser.


End file.
